Quote Originally Posted by Shurrikhan View Post
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For instance, let's say flight is unlocked at certain gradations (gliding -> stamina-based flight beyond gliding -> greater stamina and increased flight/glide speeds) over X number of weeks. I.e., by the time most non-altoholics would see noticeably diminished returns for time invested in the new zone, all flight capacities are unlocked. Players can do additional activities mostly outside the normal grind loops, such as those that tend to take you out exploring in more depth, to progress towards those unlocks earlier. And with that, the zone stays more like an actual zone, rather than just a loot chest with chore-based daily keys. (Of course, whether that area of impact matters will still depend greatly upon how engaging or barebone the zone is and how its reward loops are handled.)

The main thing is that it should feel like (A) an optional investment, rather than a necessary first step, and (B) like it doesn't detract from the feeling of a zone as a zone, insofar as that can be managed.

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I think actual progression toward full flight would be better than simply be an on-off switch with the way WoW does flight unlock, especially with the timegating. But I don't think that would be worth the effort from the devs' perspective, unlike something simple like just having multiple ground speeds.

I think the other problem with the way WoW unlock flight is that, from a personal point of view, the open world of WoW is not interesting (that said, no open world of any MMO I've played in recent years is interesting beyond questing for the main story, including FFXIV). And so, I spent more time in the open world to unlock flight than what I would on my own. It is essentially forced content for a quality-of-life feature for that said content. It just seems like backward design.

In terms of taking away from the feeling of a zone, I think being "artificially" grounded for such a lengthy amount of time does take away from the immersion in a world where flight does exist. It's fine to be grounded during leveling, but I think players should be able to fly while doing max level questing.

In regard to taking away gameplay, I think having flight should be accepted as part of it. Being able to walk, run, mount up, or fly, to decide to engage in or avoid PVP, for instance, is part of the players' choice in how they engage in the gameplay.

As for feeling lonely, make more interesting contents for people to want to go down on the ground even with flight unlocked.

But anyways, it is what it is. As it stands now, regardless of any issue people might have with FFXIV's open world, one thing I'm more than satisfied with is its flight unlock system.